Day 1

Daniel had very faint, disjointed memories after that. He remembered that they'd explored several large buildings, but hadn't found anything of value. They finally found a group of buildings that seemed to be associated with each other, built around a central open space. Sam and Daniel had agreed that it could be a university. They broke into small groups to search the area. Dr. Jago and one of the Marines went with him. He remembered climbing over rubble, through a doorway with Dr. Jago holding onto his backpack for balance. There was a blinding flash of light and then he woke up here; in the middle of an uninhabited desert. He guessed it was some sort of transportation device set up to protect the building from unauthorized entry. Well, it worked!

He listened carefully for animal sounds, but didn't hear any at all. He decided that he couldn't do much in the dark, so pulled out his sleeping bag and settled down for the night.

Day 2

He awoke just before sunrise. The sky was beginning to glow on the horizon with the golden tones of the threatening sun. He knew that it would become hot very quickly as soon as the sun ascended from its nightly slumber. He surmised that they had been transported to another hemisphere where it was summer, since the city had been in winter season. That meant that he and Dr. Jago were probably thousands of miles and possibly oceans away from the stargate.

OK. First, we need shelter during the day. Second, a source of water. Third, a food source and finally a way home.

Daniel stood up on legs that were much steadier than they had been the night before. He moved over to check on Dr. Jago, who was still unconscious. He felt her neck for her pulse and was relieved to find it stronger and steady this morning. He knelt down beside her and gently tapped her on the cheek to awaken her. She roused slightly, trying to bat his hand away. She turned from her stomach onto her back and moaned in her sleep. Daniel tapped her cheek again, determined to awaken her. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared into Daniel's eyes.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Daniel kept his voice soft and soothing, hoping she wouldn't be startled into sudden movement. He knew her ribs would be causing her pain.

"Like the Wicked Witch of the East. Someone dropped a house on me." She covered her eyes with her arm and then winced as the movement caused pain in her ribs. "What happened? Is everyone else alright?"

"Don't move. I think you've cracked a rib." Daniel leaned over and covered her back up with the sleeping bag. "I haven't seen anyone else around. I think you and I may be the only two who were transported."

"Transported?"

"Um, yeah. I think when we entered the building, something zapped us and transported us to another part of the planet. I believe it's summer here. It was hot when I first woke up yesterday. How's your head?" He wanted to give her something for the pain, but wouldn't if she seemed to have a concussion.

She reluctantly moved her arm off her face and turned her pewter grey eyes toward Daniel. She gently turned her head from side to side, assessing the pain. "It feels fine. The only place I have any pain is in my ribs."

"Good. I was afraid to move you in case you had neck or back injuries." Daniel reached over and fetched her canteen. He dug into her backpack, looking for her med kit. Finding it at the bottom, he pulled it out and retrieved a morphine tablet. He handed her the tablet and the canteen, then lifted her head, careful not to move her torso and cause her pain.

"Thanks." She swallowed the tablet along with quite a bit of the water.

Daniel turned back to his pack and took his emergency blanket out. He pulled out his Swiss Army knife and began cutting and tearing the blanket into strips. He took two of the strips, tied them together to make one long strip, and moved back over to Dr. Jago. "I'm going to need to remove your jacket and then wrap these strips around your ribs. That should help a little with the pain. Let me know when the morphine pill has taken effect. I don't want to do this until you're feeling less pain."

She nodded, her face ashen from pain beneath the sunburn.

Daniel stood, waiting for the pain medication to work and looked around, searching for both a possible source of water and someplace to build a shelter. In the growing light, he could see a line of trees in a gully about half a mile away. He knew enough about desert survival to know that was their best bet for both shelter and a source of underground water.

"Dr. Jago, are you feeling better now?"

"Under the circumstances, Dr. Jackson, call me by my first name, Arwen."

"Daniel. So, your parents were fans of Tolkien?"

"Oh, yeah. You wouldn't believe my brothers' names."

Daniel grinned at her and began gently slipping her arms out of her jacket. He moved as slowly as he could, careful to move her very little.

"I'm going to need you to sit up as straight as you can so I can wrap these strips around your ribs. Here, let me help you." Daniel moved behind her so that she could lean against him if she needed. He wrapped the strips around her as quickly as he could, making sure they were tight enough to support her ribs, but loose enough to let her breathe. Tying off the ends, Daniel put her jacket back on slowly.

"We're going to need to move over to those trees for shelter during the day. Do you think you can stand up and walk?"

"Sure. I may need some help getting up, but my legs are fine and the morphine has taken effect." She put her hands on Daniel's shoulders and he lifted her to a standing position. He held on to her as she steadied herself.

"You know between the ribs and the morphine, I think I'm going to need some help walking." She gave him an apologetic grin that turned into a grimace as she tried to stand without his support.

"That's OK. Whatever you need. Um, I do need to get both our packs. Do you think you can stand for a couple of minutes?"

"I'll be all right."

Daniel rolled up their sleeping bags as quickly as he could and hooked them to the bottoms of the backpacks. He stopped for a few minutes and piled some rocks several feet high, making a cairn, so that he could mark a trail if someone should come looking for them. He snapped his onto his vest and picked hers up to carry. He checked the area quickly to make sure he hadn't left anything. They were going to need everything they had to survive.

He slid his left arm around her back, under her left arm and slung her right arm over his shoulders. He tried to support her weight without putting any extra pressure on her ribs and found it was a difficult task. She paled with every step and jostle, but never complained.

"I hate to pressure you, but the temperature will rise about ten degrees every hour now that the sun it up. We need to get to shelter quickly to reduce perspiration." Daniel was getting tired himself. He was carrying two backpacks and supporting Dr. Jago. He knew he was running out of energy and getting very thirsty.

Arwen closed her eyes briefly, gathering strength. She nodded, then opened her eyes and let go of Daniel. "I can walk on my own the rest of the way."

Daniel wasn't sure, but he admired the strength of her resolve.